


Hatchet

by mollyinthewater



Series: SilverV Scenes [2]
Category: Cyberpunk 2077 (Video Game)
Genre: Anxiety Attacks, Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Female V (Cyberpunk 2077), Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, Self-Esteem Issues, Sharing a Bed, Soft Johnny Silverhand, V Needs A Hug (Cyberpunk 2077), but basically johnny and v are practically bffs, can be inferred as relationship or pre-relationship or just friendship, v deserves all of the comfort and i think johnny would be great at delivering it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-12 18:54:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29514219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mollyinthewater/pseuds/mollyinthewater
Summary: V's green eyes trailed to Johnny's arms resting near her, his light skin covered in little scars here and there, his metal arm still shiny but roughed up and scratched all over. Ever so slowly, as if Johnny was some wild animal that V was attempting to be on good terms with, the brunette brought her hand over to his organic arm and gently placed it on top of it. "And I can touch you."Maybe it was because he could hear her subconsciously ask for it in the back of her mind, or because he could tell that she had calmed down, or because they had been together for so long at this point that he knew her that well, because either way, Johnny knew what V wanted in that moment. He stood up, V taking her hand off of his arm before he sat down on the bed. She slid over a little to make room for him as he lay down next to her, Johnny wrapping his chrome arm around V's waist and his organic one around the middle of her back.***V has a nightmare about one of her first jobs as a merc and Johnny's there to comfort her after it.
Relationships: Johnny Silverhand & Female V, Johnny Silverhand & V, Johnny Silverhand/Female V, Johnny Silverhand/V
Series: SilverV Scenes [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2177871
Kudos: 32





	Hatchet

**Author's Note:**

> title is from the song "hatchet" by archive, the same band who performs the song "bullets" in the cp2077 teaser trailer back in 2013. their music is super good, i'm totally obsessed.
> 
> also, if you wanna know more about my v and what she's like, click [here](https://burning-samurai.tumblr.com/post/641185839456649216/meet-my-streetkid-v-anna-violet-pierce-more), but it's not really necessary for the story. and in case of confusion, this story takes place in a universe where jackie never got hurt in the heist, so that's why there are some references to him after it.
> 
> hope you enjoy <3

She was running. Her heart was thumping loudly in her head, blood pumping in her ears, deafening her quick footsteps. V may not have been in the worst shape possible, but she had already been at this job for almost half an hour, running back and forth, trying to stop those who wanted to prevent her from completing her job and trying not to get killed herself.

The building wasn't too heavily guarded—instead, it was loaded with a high-tech security system that had been easily shut off—so she and the two other mercs were able to make it down the stairs. V could feel herself beginning to grow tired, her lungs burning as sweat dripped off of her face. Her legs began to feel heavier and heavier, but she knew that she couldn't stop, not until she made it to the exit.

The three mercs split up, and despite the fact that V wasn't the one who held the shard that they were trying to steal, she could still hear a pair of footsteps right behind her, gaining quick. She looked ahead at the hallway she was in, seeing the door that led to the last set of stairs, before turning her head for a split second to look behind her. Sure enough, a man was chasing her, seeming nearly a foot taller than her small stature and donning both large muscles and obvious chrome implants, contrasting V's untoned body and mere chrome on only her face.

She noticed that the man had a gun on his side, keeping it in a holster rather than holding it. V turned her attention back to her front, her long ponytail whipping her in the face as she put together that observation and the fact that his forearms were outlined with chrome. The door was only a few feet away by this point and V could feel the adrenaline running through her as she sprinted as fast as she could, truly believing for a moment that she was going to make it.

And then she tripped.

V could practically feel her heart stop beating as she fell, unable to put her arms out in time to prevent her fall. The side of her face smacked against the tile floor, but she paid no attention to the throbbing pain in her cheek. Instead, she was too focused on the burning sensation in her right ankle, her foot having gotten caught in a broken tile. The brunette tried to get up, pushing herself off of the ground, but she fell right back down when she tried to stand. Her ankle was definitely twisted and there was no way in hell that she was going to be able to walk on it.

Suddenly, before she could remind herself that she was being chased, V felt a shooting pain in the back of her left calf. She couldn't stop herself from screaming out, spots coming up in the merc's vision as blinding-hot pain began to spread throughout her whole body. Tears sprung up in her eyes, the salty liquid trailing down her face as she felt her calf grow wet, the strong stench of copper filling the air.

Gasping breaths escaped V as she forced herself to turn over, barely able to focus as she propped herself up on her elbows, now on her back on the ground. The large man loomed over her, a cold look on his face. She looked at his arms, mantis blades protruding from them, blood dripping off of the tip of his left one. His right blade retreated back into his forearm as he reached for his iron and pulled it out.

"No, no, no, please," V cried out, her voice high in pitch and thick with pain. But her pleads meant nothing to the man as he pointed the gun at her head and

pulled

the

trigger.

* * *

The first thing V noticed when she woke up was the loud ringing in her ears. Her body jolted, unconsciously sitting up as her chest rose and fell rapidly. She could feel the chill air from the air conditioning pour into her throat, the jarring sensation hitting her hot skin. Her apartment room was dimly lit, some light from the busy city pouring in from the window on the wall, but it was still dark enough for her to see the remnants of her dreams. Almost like a braindance, the show continuing and V feeling as if she was still there.

"What the _fuck_ was that?"

V gasped, her eyes widening as she snapped her head to the left. Sure enough, there was Johnny, the construct leaning against the wall right next to the window. His aviators were long gone, revealing the wild look in his deep brown eyes. He seemed to be short of breath, too, a confused expression on his face. V stared at him for a few moments, the silence between them deafening, before she opened her mouth to speak.

"Y-You... you..." V stammered, unable to put together a coherent answer to Johnny's question.

Johnny had _seen_ that? She had no idea that that was even possible. It wasn't like she hadn't had dreams ever since she got the biochip implanted in her, but Johnny had never mentioned them before. Then again, none of her dreams lately had been so violent, so realistic. She hadn't had a nightmare in a few weeks, and of course the first one had to be _that_ again, and Johnny had to be able to see one of her lowest points.

V tried to talk once again, but nothing came out as her vision began to grow blurry. Her breathing was beginning to pick up and she couldn't decide what was making her feel worse: the fact that she had to relive that horrible moment all over again or that Johnny had seen it all. The merc's throat was tightening, a heavy feeling on her chest as she brought a shaky hand up to her face to wipe her tears away. A sob escaped her, the girl sounding as if she was choking, and all of a sudden a wave of helplessness washed over her as everything began to grow distant compared to the thoughts racing in her mind.

"Hey, hey," V heard Johnny say, his voice soft and much quieter than her pounding heart. She could see in her peripheral vision that he had moved closer to her, kneeling next to the bed. V didn't turn to look at the man, though, instead keeping her face forward as her tears began to drip off of her chin and onto her lap. "Can you look at me, kid?"

It took a moment for V to gain the strength to make herself look at the construct, turning her face a little to the left. She couldn't make eye contact with him but even through the blurriness of her vision, she could see the concerned look on Johnny's face, the man more serious than usual and a small frown replacing his typical smirk or look of boredom. It felt almost wrong to see him looking like that, as if the girl had messed up in some way.

"I—" V tried to say something, though she wasn't sure what, and was cut off by another sob wracking her body. She so badly wanted to cover her face due to her shame, for Johnny to leave, but she couldn't bring herself to attempt either option as her hands took purchase in her bed sheets and held onto them tightly.

"It's okay, don't gotta say anything," Johnny told her, folding his arms and leaning them on the bed. V could feel the bed shift ever so slightly due to the pressure from him, even though she knew that in reality, nothing had happened. He kept his arms a few inches away from her midsection, and V was barely aware of her surroundings enough to be grateful for the lack of contact. She knew that at the moment she did not want to be touched, not when shivers traveled over her body as she cried, her face hot and her throat tight.

"Can you do somethin' for me?" Johnny asked. V didn't really respond, staring down at his thick vest but still registering his question. She felt a little confused, but that feeling was muted compared to her embarrassment. Johnny continued talking, taking her silence as a yes. "Tell me five things you see."

And finally, V looked up at Johnny's eyes, her green irises full of anxiety. She made herself let go of the blue bed sheets, once again bringing a hand up to try and wipe away the tears on her cheeks. When done, she shook her head a little, bringing her hand back down into her lap. She could hardly think straight in the moment, there was no way that she could try to answer that question. V's mind was overrun with so many other thoughts that it felt impossible for her to try and do that.

"I know, I know, it's hard, but just try, okay? Try to focus on me, V." V stared at Johnny for a moment, her eyes frantically looking over his face as if she was looking for something, though she didn't know what. She brushed some of her dark brown hair out of her face before trying her best to listen to the rocker.

Five things she could see. It was easy. Just five things— _don't think about the warehouse, you can't really see him, you can't see the mantis blades_ —that she could see.

Easy.

"I see..." Even though she was only thinking it, V's voice still came out shaky and much smaller than normal. She forced herself to take an uneven breath before continuing, a hiccup escaping her. "I-I see you." V tore her eyes away from Johnny, beginning to look around the room. "And... my bed. The window. My radio and... the couch."

"Okay, now tell me four things you can hear," Johnny said next, his voice sounding much clearer to V. The ringing in her ears had quieted by this point and her tears had dried up for the most part, albeit small sobs still leaving her chest.

"Your voice. And..." V's eyes trailed down to the ground, staring at the tile pattern as she tried to focus on the sounds surrounding her. "Someone's playing music downstairs. And there are cars honking outside. And there's people... people talking in the hallway."

"Now, gimme three things you can touch," Johnny said. V's breaths were beginning to slow as she focused on the instruction, looking down at her bed. Her left hand moved slowly, tracing a crease in the dark blue bed sheets before gingerly making contact with the book right next to her.

"My bed sheets. And... my book." Well, really it wasn't _her_ book, just a book that River was letting her borrow. It was some murder mystery that he thought she would like and she hadn't been able to put it down since, reading it every night before falling asleep and keeping it next to her pillow.

V's green eyes trailed to Johnny's arms resting near her, his light skin covered in little scars here and there, his metal arm still shiny but roughed up and scratched all over. Ever so slowly, as if Johnny was some wild animal that V was attempting to be on good terms with, the brunette brought her hand over to his organic arm and gently placed it on top of it. "And I can touch you."

Maybe it was because he could hear her subconsciously ask for it in the back of her mind, or because he could tell that she had calmed down, or because they had been together for so long at this point that he knew her _that_ well, because either way, Johnny knew what V wanted in that moment. He stood up, V taking her hand off of his arm before he sat down on the bed. She slid over a little to make room for him as he lay down next to her, Johnny wrapping his chrome arm around V's waist and his organic one around the middle of her back.

V reciprocated the touch immediately, both of her arms going around Johnny's waist as her head leaned against his chest. The programmed sound of his heartbeat played in her ears and she ignored his concept of ones and zeroes as she closed her eyes and focused on Johnny's presence and that alone.

"It's okay, darlin', it's alright. Everything's okay," Johnny whispered, the side of his face resting against the top of her head. It was so different to the Johnny that V had first met, hell, the normal Johnny most of the time. He had been so aggressive and sarcastic all of the time that V's upbeat nature could barely handle it, but after spending all of these weeks together, things had changed so much. It was almost as if Johnny had become a whole different person, like a flower finally blooming after what seemed to be a never-ending winter.

V knew that Johnny was taking inspiration from how he'd seen her treat others. She had been there to console so many people lately: Judy, River, even Johnny himself. It was almost a maternal nature of hers, caring deeply for her friends and wanting so badly to be there when they were hurting. She didn't have much experience growing up with the comfort she gave, except for Jackie a few times, but she knew how _she_ would want to be treated, so she did a good enough job.

Being comforted instead of the one who gave comfort was different, too. The ratio was practically a hundred to one at this point in her life, Jackie again being those few exceptions: the first time she had had a nightmare while living with him, almost dying, after she finally woke up and found out that she had a death sentence. Having someone to count on, to be there for her was strange, but... good. _So_ good.

And Johnny being there for V right now felt just as nice—especially his use of pet names, like "darling," and even considering the word "kid" as one, too. She knew that Johnny could tell how much she liked it when people gave her nicknames like that, like with Jackie calling her "chica" and "hermana." It was another set of affection that she had missed out so much during her childhood, so experiencing it now nearly brought heat to her face.

It was quiet as Johnny held V, small, empty sobs that sounded more like heaving breaths leaving her. A few tears still managed to slip out of her closed eyes and onto Johnny's vest, but the wells were as good as dry by this point. V could already feel her eyes begin to burn and she knew that the skin around them was growing red and puffy.

She felt so small with Johnny's arms around her, her wider frame pressed against his lithe one. The sensation was similar to whenever Jackie held her, but also unlike it. It was the first time that V had ever felt so open and vulnerable around the rocker. Sure, she had had her moments in the past few weeks and she was never afraid of speaking about how much she cared about Johnny and her friends, but this time was different. It had been something that she wasn't in control of, something that had been hidden deep inside of her that even Johnny didn't know about yet. It felt like she was being put out on display like this, but with her bed sheets covering her lower half and Johnny's arms practically protecting her upper half, she also felt so sheltered and _safe._

After a few more minutes, the sobs finally stopped, stuttering but sufficient enough breaths taking their place. V's eyes were still closed as she tried to even out her breathing, Johnny's chrome hand softly rubbing up and down her back in an effort to help—yet another action that V had inspired.

With her eyes closed and focusing on nothing but her breathing and Johnny, V could truly feel the tension in his hand, the nervousness hiding just underneath his exterior. She didn't have to see all of his memories to know that Johnny was not very experienced with comforting others, and it was as if she could sense his uncertainty in his movement and hushed words of reassurance. He was trying to help her and just that small fact made V feel so much better already.

V took another deep breath before finally opening her eyes, being met with the rough surface of Johnny's vest. Though it seemed like one of the more uncomfortable things to be resting against, V didn't actually mind it, the sensation not bad at all. Then again, she wasn't truly feeling Johnny at all, so maybe that was just her mind blocking out any discomfort.

"Fuck," V broke the silence, still speaking through her thoughts. She knew that her voice would be horribly hoarse and crackly if she tried to talk aloud. She looked down slightly, her forehead still resting against Johnny as she stared at his leather pants before speaking again. "I... I'm sorry, I don't—"

"Shut the fuck up, V," Johnny cut her off, his words stern but lacking any trace of anger. "Don't need to apologize for anythin'."

V felt heat rush to her face as she shifted in place, her arms holding Johnny a little tighter than before. It was almost confusing to hear someone tell her that instead of _making_ her apologize. She took another deep breath before speaking again. "... okay."

It went quiet again, V feeling nearly awkward and unsure of what to do next. It still felt nice, though, as Johnny continued to hold her, not making any moves to pull away. She could smell the smoke on him, the scent practically stitched into his clothes, but there was something so familiar about it that V actually didn't mind the smell for once.

"So," Johnny started speaking, his voice hesitant, "you wanna tell me what that shit was about?"

Okay, now it was _really_ getting weird. Out of all of the pages in V's book, that was the one that she least expected Johnny to take. He wanted her to actually _talk_ to him about what just happened? Not to pretend like nothing happened, to just forget everything?

Who was this and what had he done with V's Johnny?

The brunette tilted her head up some so that she was looking up at Johnny, her eyes wide. His brown ones caught them before he quickly looked away, V swearing that in the darkness of her apartment, she saw some pink appear on his face. "Oh, Christ—fuck off, V, c'mon."

If the merc wasn't still feeling so unnerved by her dream, she would've laughed at Johnny's reaction. Instead, she gave him a small, apologetic smile before looking back down. She knew it was hypocritical of her, but V was reluctant to start talking. There were a lot of moments in her life that she preferred not to speak of, but that was definitely one of her lowest ones out of all of them. One of the most prominent that really changed her, who she was and how she saw the world. She felt so embarrassed to simply be reminded of it, so in the moment, thinking about how Johnny had seen all of it made her feel nearly mortified.

"Little too late to make me unsee it, kid," Johnny said, reminding V that he could still hear her thoughts, whether she was directly speaking to him or not. She could feel the rumble of his voice in his chest as he spoke. "Best thing to do now is to tell me what the hell is it I saw."

V let out a small sigh. She knew that, as much as she wanted him to be wrong, Johnny was right.

"Ain't like I'm ever wrong," Johnny smugly told V, the girl knowing without looking that he had a smirk on his face. She let go of him for a second so that she could bring her right hand up and lightly smack the back of the construct's head. V breathed out a laugh as Johnny let out a quiet "Hey!" before saying, "... worth it." V simply rolled her eyes in response, resting her hand on Johnny's back again. She took another deep breath, this one steadier than the others, before organizing her thoughts and finally talking.

"It was my third job ever," V spoke in her head, her voice taking on her serious tone whenever she dealt with grim things, this moment being no exception. "I was still getting used to Night City, I'd only been here for around two months. Since I was so new and the place we were going to was so big, I got sent out with two other mercs. We were supposed to steal a shard of pretty important data from the Tyger Claws. It took a while, but one of us finally found it. But right when he did, the other one was spotted."

The memory was so fresh in V's mind, she could practically feel herself reliving it all over again as she remembered. The constriction of her shoes against her feet, her hot face highlighted with sweat, anxiety bubbling in her skin. Suddenly, there were loud yells in Japanese coming from above her as the other merc spoke on the three's connected holo call, telling them, _"Gotta get outta here_ now _, one of the fuckers just saw me."_ They were able to meet up for a split moment where they had broken into the building, but the doors had been automatically locked, the place going on lockdown due to the unexpected visitors.

"So we separated," V continued, the palms of her hands pressing against the back of Johnny's vest. "We thought it'd be better that way, easier to look for another way out and safer than getting caught together."

"And that's when that asshole started followin' you," Johnny spoke up. V nodded, moving slightly so that her face was hidden in the crook of his neck, as if she was trying to hide from the memory. Johnny immediately noticed the sudden change in position, bringing his organic hand up and running it through her dark brown locks. A shiver ran over V's body, the girl taking comfort in the repeated motion as she tried to regain her composure.

"Could see what you saw, feel what you felt," Johnny told her, giving V a small break from retelling the memory. His voice lowered some as he spoke, an unfamiliar but easily recognizable tone consisting of concern and sorrow taking over. "You were so fuckin' scared... worryin' about those other two kids and yourself." He paused before continuing, the hand in V's hair freezing. "Thought you were gonna die."

"... yeah," was all V said in response, her eyes screwing shut tight. She truly did believe in that moment that it was going to be the end for her, that coming to Night City had been the biggest mistake of her life. Fear had taken root in her heart and her head had begun to feel light as she tried to focus on getting away.

"Then what happened?" Johnny gently asked, encouraging V to keep talking. "Know you didn't actually get shot. I don't think it's possible for anyone to have shit enough luck to get a bullet in the head twice."

V nodded, the conversation topic restraining her from even cracking a smile at Johnny's attempt at humor. "No... no, I didn't get shot. But he did."

It was all so sudden. One second the man was bringing his gun up to V's face and the next he was on the ground, blood pooling around his head. His blood had gotten on her clothes, but she barely even noticed as she continued to weep. It was like she couldn't stop herself, her fear spreading all over her body and needing a release. The merc who had gotten spotted—Tyler, she remembered—looked down at her, putting his iron away before stepping over the dead man's body and helping V stand up.

She could never forget the way that he looked at her. Light blue eyes that didn't hold anger or disappointment, but rather sympathy and pity. _"You're just a kid,"_ his eyes said as he lifted her up, whimpers escaping her as she leaned against him and walked on a sprained ankle and a bleeding calf. _"You shouldn't be here."_

Somehow, with her body growing practically numb, V and her savior made it to the getaway car, joining up with the other merc—Jonas? or Jonah, something along those lines. He was annoyed for having to wait so long for them, as if he had simply been waiting for a date that was running late. When he saw V's condition, he let out an irritated string of curses and told the driver to make a stop at the nearest ripperdoc. She would be going in alone, however, the other two planning on going straight to the fixer and dropping off the shard.

V didn't care too much about that as she pushed herself into the side of the car, stifling her sobs as best as she could. The other two mercs didn't say anything else to her before the car came to a stop in front of a clinic. She slowly made her way out of the car, not bothering to say goodbye and her blood and tears dripping onto the concrete beneath her. As if things couldn't get any worse, twenty minutes later as she was still getting patched up, V got paid only a third of what she had been promised.

She had never felt so humiliated.

"It was... it was really hard to get jobs after that," V faintly said. Her eyes began to burn with the want to shed tears, but there were none left to release. "People thought I wasn't useful and saw me as some risk that would just mess everything up. They just kinda figured that I wasn't... wasn't good at anything. That I wasn't _strong_."

V's voice broke on the last word, pressing her forehead against the cool skin of Johnny's collarbone as her body trembled. Her hands clutched awkwardly to the back of his vest, as if he was an anchor that she required to steady her.

"Shit, hey—"

"I felt so fucking _weak,_ Johnny." She was still speaking through her thoughts but the words managed to come out as gasps. She was falling, falling, _falling_ and the words just wouldn't stop. "I hated it. I hated it _so much._ I never wanted to feel like that ever again. That's why I got more ch-chrome, why I left the scar on my leg. 'Cuz I had—had to be better, or else I-I wasn't gonna make it. Everyone would think that I was some—some gonk who couldn't do shit because I was w-weak and couldn't fight back and–and—and—"

"V, stop fuckin' talkin'," Johnny gruffly interrupted the girl, carrying on with running his hand through her long hair. "And take a breath, for Christ's sake." V listened to him, not even having realized that her breathing had begun to pick up again. She tried to slow it down, inhaling slowly through her nose and exhaling through her mouth. The two went mute as V focused on her breathing, subconsciously noticing the slightest bit of tension in Johnny's jaw, his scruffy jawline resting against her head.

"Don't think I really need to point this out to you, but you aren't weak, kid," Johnny softly spoke. The compliment was a little jarring but also so _comforting_ to hear. Her breaths were already just about even again as Johnny continued talking. "I've seen you beat the ass of guys almost three times your size. Pretty sure most people can't even do half the crazy shit you've done."

Johnny had a point. She'd gotten much better at fighting, even winning those boxing matches for Fred, and most of her skills overall had built up: hacking, speed, endurance, agility. She did her best at every job, and by now most of the fixers in Night City knew how much she could be trusted.

But there was still a difference. All of that change had happened over time because V knew that she _had_ to be better. Before all of that, she was still some rookie who had the faintest clue what she was doing. And before she came to Night City, she was one of the weakest kids in her town. She never even attempted to get involved with any fights, always trying to be on people's good sides and never speaking against those who walked all over her.

"But just because I'm stronger _now_ doesn't mean—"

"You were strong before all that shit, too," Johnny cut V off, his voice steady. "You know I've seen some of your memories, V. Not all 'em, but enough. Just 'cuz you never fought back doesn't mean you were weak. And leavin' your home and comin' here... that took guts."

V went still at Johnny's words before letting go of his waist, her left arm pushing against her pillow and her right arm pressing against the small gap between the two as she sat up. The brunette rested her left hand on the rocker's shoulder as she stared deeply into his brown eyes. His face was solemn as he stared back at her, the girl unable to find a trace of humor in his features.

"Johnny..." Her voice was, as V had expected, hoarse and scratchy, but also so thick with emotion and disbelief. It felt so hard for her to try and believe Johnny's words, to _accept_ them. All of her life, the way she'd been treated and talked to and thought of herself made her feel like she should reject what Johnny was saying, but she could find nothing but honesty in the man's eyes.

"Don't try to argue with me on this," Johnny gently told V, his metal hand resting against the small of her back and his organic one softly squeezing the back of her neck. "Remember what I said?" He asked, a smug grin appearing on his face. "I'm Johnny fuckin' Silverhand, the guy that's always right."

V stared back at Johnny, her mouth growing into the smallest of smiles before she suddenly embraced him once more, arms tight around him and her face retreating back to the crook of his neck with her eyes closed. "Thank you," she told him through her thoughts, her voice full of gratitude.

"Don't mention it," Johnny replied. The two stayed like that for a few more moments, holding each other in a hug, before V felt exhaustion begin to creep up her spine. After all that had happened, it was no surprise that she was tired, especially since it was the middle of the night. Johnny immediately took notice of V's fatigue and softly pulled her arms off of him, the girl too lacking of energy to do anything else but let him position her head back against her pillows.

"Time for you to go back to sleep, kid," Johnny told V, the brunette's eyes fluttering back open but barely able to remain half-lidded. He swung his legs over the side of the bed, ready to stand up before telling V goodnight, but V's hand—it was so _small_ compared to his—on his right one made him pause.

"Wait," V drowsily said, propping herself up on an elbow. Johnny turned back around to look at her, quirking an eyebrow in her direction. She didn't make eye contact, instead keeping her dark emerald eyes fixated on their touching hands. "Will you... do you wanna stay?" The thought came out terribly timid as V felt her face flush lightly.

Johnny looked at her for a second, as if contemplating the question, but his answer had already been made right when V had asked. He huffed out a laugh before shifting a little so that he could pull down the bed covers beneath him. "You're lucky I don't have anywhere else to be."

V gave him the brightest smile she could manage as she helped him pull down the bed sheets, moving over more. Johnny lay down beneath them next to the merc, and instantly after he had gotten comfortable leaning against the bed's headboard, V jumped back into his arms. Johnny rolled his eyes but made no effort to push her away, instead pulling her a little closer and resting his hands against her back.

"Hey, Johnny?" V softly asked, her head once again laying cozily on his chest. She was fighting to keep her eyes open, but she could feel herself beginning to lose the battle. Johnny hummed in response, signaling her to keep talking. "How did you know about the five, four, three, two, one thing?" She recognized the trick, one of the ways to help somebody calm down and prevent them from having a full-on anxiety attack. She'd only used it a few times a couple of years ago, now usually just trying to focus on a certain place or person that helped her calm down. Of course, she couldn't always just simply calm down by herself, sometimes relying on others for help, and in this case, Johnny.

"Back when Samurai first started, Kerry had the worst fuckin' stage fright I'd ever seen," Johnny succinctly explained, a hint of nostalgia in his voice. "Had to find some way to help calm him down or else we'd never make it a foot on stage."

"Really?" V curiously asked, completely unaware of Kerry's old fear. She was the same way, absolutely hating whenever she had to speak in front of a crowd or even just a few people. Clearly, Kerry had gotten over it, though, or at least found a really good way to cope, or else he wouldn't be hosting concerts in front of thousands and thousands of people.

"Yeah," Johnny said, and it was almost as if V could truly feel his remembrance of the memories and the warmth they brought. "Finally started gettin' better after our fourth show, thank God. It was our biggest one yet, but after being up on stage for a few minutes, Ker started gettin' into it. Had this big fuckin' smile on his face, and then..."

Johnny's words echoed in V's head as her eyes finally fluttered shut, slowly slipping into sleep with a small smile on her face. She wasn't sure if she had felt as comfortable as she did in that moment within the past few weeks, and with Johnny holding her, she felt safer than ever.

_Thanks, Johnny._

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! if you wanna see more cyberpunk 2077 content from me and find out ways to support me and my writing, check out my tumblr sideblog for this amazing game [here](https://burning-samurai.tumblr.com)! and if you wanna keep up with my writing in general, which is mostly detroit: become human stories, check out my main blog [here](https://mollyinthewater.tumblr.com)!
> 
> btw, the book that river lended v was "missing, presumed" by susie steiner. it's about this detective in england who's trying to figure out this murder/missing persons crime and i love it so much!! i assumed that river would prolly like it, too, since he used to be a detective and i kinda headcanon him as someone who likes physical books.
> 
> have a good day <3


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